The orphans looked at the new girl with white hair, jealousy in their eyes as Ruben scooped the first ladle-full stew and poured it in Lyrica's bowl. The first scoop was often seen with jealousy because it mostly contained the most meat and vegetables. The stew was milky white with an earthy and herby scent. It had mushrooms, wild herbs, and unpeeled carrops giving the dish color.

She glanced all around her, wary of the stares boring into her. What are they looking at... Then, Ruben handed her bread. It was hard and stale. If you didn't care about your house being moist when it rained, you could probably use the bread as a substitute for brick.

She squinted, looking at Ruben's hands. Dirty... and he held my bread... Then with her sleeves, she wiped the crusty bread clean spreading crumbs all around, sticking into her dress. Wa... that wasn't a good idea...

The other children saw what she did trying to hold their laughter, making her blush all the way to her ears. Then as if in anticipation, the children gulped their saliva. Lyrica tried to rip a piece of the bread, but it was way too strong.

"Want me to help?" Jodie asked, stretching out her hands which surprised Lyrica. They're clean...!

"Yeah!" She replied, excited.

Jodie then took out a small square shaped cloth and placed it near Lyri's bowl. She proceeded to rip the bread into small chunks and placed them on the handkerchief. "Enjoy your food," Jodie said, smiling.

Then Lyrica took a piece of the bread, and dipped it into the scalding hot stew and brought it into her lips which made her flinch. Hot! She huffed and puffed air into her mouth, trying to cool the soaked bread. After the bread had cooled down it was still too hard for her, it had become soggy and hard to swallow. Looking to her side, she saw Jodie wiping her bowl clean with another cloth. Whoah... that's smart.

Soon after Ruben scooped the stew for other orphans, starting with the smaller children and then to Jodie until Ruben finally poured his own bowl which was the usual order, but new children joining the orphanage or sick children would get the first scoop as well. Everyone began to stuff their faces with the stew and bread, using their bare hands. Lyrica looked to her side again, and found Jodie with a spoon. I wonder if she has another spoon for me... Lyrica looked at Jodie's wooden spoon with jealousy.

Jodie noticed, and gave her a sorry smile. "Sorry, I only have this one."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Wa..." Lyrica sounded. Impossible...

"W-wa?" Jodie asked, confused.

"What's so great about spoons anyways," a boy with brown hair and green eyes asked.

"Hmph!" Lyrica sounded.

Soon after, the other children finished stuffing their faces with full bellies and satisfied grins. Lyrica however is still battling with her food, trying to 'preserve her dignity' with her weird hand placement rituals. It took her a full hour and a half until she was finally done with her food. The war wasn't over however, she wasn't given a moment to relax before she was bombarded with questions from the orphans as they exchanged stories.

♦ ♦ ♦

Done with stuffing his face, Ruben looked around the clattering and noisy table full of a dozen orphans. The first floor had wires hung around it, with clothes hanging under them. With a small corner having a stove furnace and some cupboards and some pans hanging on the nails on the wall.

He proceeded to turn his heel and leave, saying goodbye to the children. He was headed to the craftsmen's alley, it was a street full of workshops located northward from the orphanage. He passed by a smithery, feeling the hot air against his skin as he walked past the alley. Until he heard the familiar noise of sawing. He arrived at Klaus' Carpentry Workshop.

The workshop looked like a big shed made of bricks and wood. It had two doors leading to the inside, revealing tools strewn around. The istants were working, common workers that did commissions for clients. The istants did their job with dexterity, using the planer to smooth out slabs of wood while the tivas guide them on what to do.

The workshop was divided into two different areas, the reception area where customers interact with the tivas and the foreman to commission an item and the actual workshop deeper inside where the istants and tivas work on their commissions.

Ruben opened the doors and stepped inside, revealing a set of stairs and terminals. As well as some tivas moving around and going into the inner workshop with some wooden boards, as well as some istants running around carrying baskets full of materials.

He looked inside only for a grizzled Klaus to greet him. Klaus had a white beard, and an overall muscular but chunky build. The old man seemed troubled, covering his face with his hands.

"Are you okay Mister Klaus?" Ruben asked, concerned. The old man's eyes were red and tired as he looked up to gaze at him.

"What took ya so long son?" Klaus hesitantly asked, expecting him with a thin wooden board in hand.

"Something came up... and I had chores dumped into me," Ruben scratched the back of his head.

"Well..." Klaus looked at the wooden board in his hand with sadness in his eyes, making the other tivas click their tongue making Klaus flinch.

"I'm sorry, I don't have any work commissioned for you." Klaus gave in. "I can't handle giving you a pay if you're not here most of the time..." Klaus continued. "The workshop can't handle to support you anymore, we're gonna go bankrupt if this continues," the old man gently placed his hands on Ruben's shoulders in understanding.

"...Oh." Ruben was overcome with emotions frustration, guilt, but mostly sadness. Sadness on not being smart enough to have saved money to prepare just in case, he put his siblings in danger. Guilt for using money for selfish desires. And frustration in not being able to buy good quality and richly dyed red string. Rita...